President Joe Biden reportedly skipped out on a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2022 to go to bed early, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
German officials reportedly planned for the president to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a June Group of Seven summit, though the foreign aides made the meeting early evening as they had become aware that Biden gets “fatigued” at night, sources told the WSJ. The president never showed up to the meeting and instead, Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in his place, telling the chancellor and his aides that Biden had gone to bed, officials told the outlet.
“Secretary Blinken never said that or anything like it,” Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesperson, told the WSJ. Ahead of the meeting, the White House had “indicated early” that they would not be attending the meeting, a U.S. official told the outlet, also disputing that Blinken had been used as a stand-in.
During the June 2022 trip, the president had been managing meetings with world leaders and various phone calls, causing him to end one time at 10 p.m., a White House official told the outlet.
Attendees of the summit told the WSJ that Biden did not see any indication of cognitive decline during working hours, though noting that the 81-year-old appeared to slow as the days went on. The president’s tiredness, U.S officials told attendees, was because of the lack of air conditioning, sources told the outlet. The WSJ noted that the State Department contested the anecdote.
An audience member holds a sign calling on President Joe Biden to “pass the torch” during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School on July 05, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. Biden has been receiving criticism suggesting that he is too old and in too poor health to serve another term as president. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The WSJ report detailed other moments that showed Biden’s declining state over the years, and his aides’ attempts to cover it up and hide him from the press. The outlet noted that the report was based on conversations had before and after his debate performance with more than two dozen former and current Biden administration officials, Democratic lawmakers, major campaign donors and Democratic strategists.
About a year ago, the president attended a fundraiser at the Four Seasons in New York where he gave a 10-minute speech and answered questions, attendees told the outlet, adding that Biden seemed “fragile.”
While speaking at the event, the president appeared to forget the word for “veteran” and eventually turned to the audience to help him, the WSJ reported, noting that Biden told attendees he was trying to say a person who had served in the Army or Navy.
“None of them change the facts at play this election and what this campaign will be focused on every single day: that President Biden is the most accomplished president in modern history,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told the WSJ, criticizing the use of anonymous accounts.
Later in the fall of 2023, Biden attended a fundraiser in New York where he had another notable senior moment, a person in attendance told the WSJ. While answering a question on the Middle East during a photo line, the president seemed “at a loss” causing an aide to whisper in his ear before he continued answering, the source told the outlet.
Biden has faced an increase in questions about his fitness for office following a disastrous debate performance. Amid the cries from within his own party, the president and his campaign have rushed to pacify the situation with various appearances and events. The president called into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday, saying if Democrats want him out so badly, they should challenge him at the party’s convention in August. (RELATED: Joe Biden Repeatedly Denies Reality In Primetime ABC Interview)
“Here’s the deal. [A red wave is] not going to happen here this time around. The American public is not going to move away from me as an average voter. Again, I’m here for two reasons, pal. One, to rebuild the economy for hard-working middle class people to give everybody a shot, a straight shot. Everybody gets a fair chance, number one. Number two, remember about all this talk about how I don’t have the black support? Come on. Give me a break. Come with me. Watch. Watch,” Biden said, expressing confidence that he would beat former President Donald Trump in November.
“I’m getting frustrated by the elites – not you guys – the elites in the party, oh, they know so much more. Any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce for president. Challenge me at the convention,” the president added.